Statement of Faith

Statement of Faith for BTS:

God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.  There is only one God, the living and true God, who exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  All three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. 
God is sovereign, the Creator, and the Sustainer of all things.  God is the source and the end of all truth.

The Bible is infallible and inerrant.  It is the Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him.

God decrees His eternal purpose, according to the counsel of His will, where, for His own glory, He has foreordained whatever comes to pass.  God executes His decrees in the works of creation and providence.  God’s works of providence are, His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all His creatures, and all their actions.

Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God, thereby causing the fall of the entire human race.

Sin is not conforming to or transgressing the law of God.  Every sin deserves God’s wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to come.

To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin, God requires of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption.  Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation, as He is offered to us in the gospel.  Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, with grief and hatred of his sin, turns from it to God.  Repentance is made with the full purpose of and endeavor after new obedience.  Justification is an act of God’s free grace, whereby He pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in His sight, only because the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us.  Justification is received by faith in Christ alone. Those who receive saving grace, now walk in the newness of life by grace alone, strengthened to become more like Christ on their Christian journey.

All Christians await the second coming of Jesus Christ, when, with the resurrection of the body and the last judgement, the Lord God will inaugurate the New Heavens and the New Earth.

BTS is a part of ARTS (Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries). All ARTS schools require staff and faculty to adhere to one of the following confessional statements:

• Westminster Confession of Faith and Standards
• London Confession of Faith 1689 or Philadelphia 1742
• Three Forms of Unity
• Helvetica Confession

For more questions, please feel free to contact the BTS office.